The Icarian Legacy Collected Edition: Brave Souls - First Strike (Volume 3) (14 page)

Taylor looked at the president. His friend looked older. The toil of the events that transpired fell heavily on his shoulders. As the president of the most powerful nation on the planet everyone expected of him to have the answers.

And Taylor knew that everyone expected from the US to take the lead in the war that was coming.

And a new twist came with the resolution that passed one week ago in the UN. The small piece of paper brought a whole new bunch of problems to the surface. It was easy to say we will unite but it was really hard to do it in real life. After the presidents signed the documents the ambassadors and the negotiating teams started their work. They were still discussing the methods of leadership and government. And it looked that they will keep on doing it. And that was just the beginning. He wondered how the act of forming a single, united planetary army will go. That was the real hornets’ nest.

“Our research teams are looking though the systems and the technology. So are teams from almost every country in the world. But it will take time. Most of the technology is so far ahead of us that there is no chance of us using it any time soon. And a lot of the equipment is damaged or destroyed. When our guys shot they shoot with vengeance. The bridge is a mess, so is the engine room, and most of the weapons systems are destroyed as well. Basically what we have is a total wreck, with a few partially functional parts that we can use. At least that is what they are saying so far.”

The president inhaled. He took the glass and emptied it all in one swing. He looked at him.

“NASA checked the coordinates that the alien gave to that soldier. They are literally on the edge of the solar system. And according to them there is nothing there. Not even an asteroid or a comet, nothing but a bunch of empty space. With our current technology there is no way to see why they chose that point for entering in the Solar system.”

“We’ll have to send a mission to those coordinates.  I think that the Deadalus just got another mission.”

At the mentioning of that name both men looked at each other and became silent.

The Deadalus project was the project that more than sixty countries started together several months back after the mysterious discovery that the New Horizon probe did in the Kuiper belt in the orbit around Sedna. That discovery brought something new in to the space program. It brought back the same excitement that existed back in the sixties of the previous century when the world’s most powerful countries fought a battle about who will be the first to break the new boundaries in space.

For the past thirty, maybe even more years, the space program got mothballed and the projects that were created more than half a century ago were forgotten as mankind turned on the problems on its own planet. With the economic crises, the fall of the USSR, Yugoslavia and the wars in Africa and Asia, the oil problems it seemed that space can wait. The plans back then were to send people on Mars, to create a base on the moon, and a huge space station around Earth. There were even dreams of sending expeditions on other stars. But as time passed by, the money and the investments shifted to other projects and the space race from the sixties turned in to a crawl…

“
We could have been so much ahead today if that stupidity didn’t exist. If…”

The president turned to the window and looked to the stars. In that look Taylor noticed longing and anger.

The president turned and looked at the general.

“Can you imagine where we would have been if our predecessors”- at these words he smiled-“I should say my predecessors, hadn’t stopped investing in the space programs, if instead they invested more.”

Taylor looked at his friend. He as well as the president knew a lot of things that only they could have known and he could notice that the president was angry.

“We can’t change the past. We can only learn from their mistakes, and try not to repeat them. Instead the past look to the future.”

“The future…? We may not have a future thanks to those mistakes, thanks to those morons before me.”

The general smiled at the harsh words. He remembered their younger versions and the small talks about the hated politicians.

“
I wonder what those two young brats would have said if they could see us today.
”

“For a second I thought that you lost your fire.”

At that comment they both laughed.

“You always knew when to break the mood Jack.”

The general smiled but didn’t say anything.

The president looked at the man who was both his military advisor and his friend.

“It’s hard to just seat here knowing what I know Jack. When only I think of all the missed chances in the past, all the signs, all the stupid decisions they made for personal gain or power. We could have been so much ahead today. Do you know that the project, the ship that we are building is a project that was made more than half a century ago? Even the Space station is designed on plans that were created in those years, to think that we could have had all these things twenty, thirty years ago. Can you imagine where we would have been today?”

The general looked at him. He too knew of the things that the president mentioned. And he knew that there was more, so much more, that they didn’t, couldn’t say. But now was not the time to dwell on those things.

“We both know that you are right, but we can’t change that. What we, me, you and all the others, can do now is to try and not make the same mistakes. As your military advisor all I can say is yes we can defend ourselves. It will be hard, but it’s not impossible.”

The president looked at him.

“You are right. All we can do now is to give our best and hope that it will be enough. All we can is to do the right thing.”

“Yes. And Deadalus is just the first step in that direction. In couple months it will go on its mission and who knows we might find something that we can use. And the best minds are already working on the ships we destroyed. By the time those bastards come we will be ready for them Mr. President. And when they come they will be sorry they did that. You have my word.”

The president smiled at the last words. As he did that he picked up a small document that was on his desk. He handed it to the general.

As Taylor looked at him he answered him.

“Those are your new orders. You will be part of the team of generals that will be discussing and creating the plans for the creation of a unified planetary army and fleet. You will be working with generals from several countries. You know how important it is so I don’t have to lecture you. Take whoever you need. You have opened hands in this.”

The general stood up and saluted.

“Yes Mr. President.”

“That is all Jack. I expect a report in thirty days. After that we start.

The general turned on those words and exited the office. He knew that the real job, his job was just beginning.”

                                          CHAPTER SIX

10 October 2017

Kennedy Space Center 

Edward looked up at the sky at the shuttles that were carrying the next parts of the first space ship that humanity was building. His black eyes looked at the rising shuttles with longing. He remembered the days of his childhood when he listened to the stories of the old astronauts, when he watched the shows of their space missions.

The older man standing next to him looked at his young colleague.

Dr. Paterson knew that he had that same look in his eyes. But he also knew that his dreams will remain exactly that. Only dreams.

He was too old for going in space, and besides he had too much work now here on Earth with the ships that the navy engaged and defeated. Most of the top scientists not just from NASA but also from other countries of the world were now in Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia trying to uncover the secrets of the alien ship. There were teams in Macedonia as well researching the wreck of the smaller ship that crashed there.

The mood was dark the past couple of days. When the news of the attack came they were celebrating the finishing of the plans for the engines. He remembered the pride they all felt when the tests were successful. And in the middle of that celebration the news arrived. And then everything changed. What was supposed to be mainly scientific project was fast taken over by the military.

There were no objections to that. They all knew that NASA always had good cooperation with the Pentagon. They all knew from the first day of the starting of the project that the military will have a team on it as well. But after the attack everything changed. He knew that there will be scientists on the trip but if previously the main goal was searching for technology that will advance not just the military but the civilian aspects of the human society as well, now the main goal was towards the military aspects of the operation. He didn’t like it but he understood the sudden shift. With the knowledge that there is an invasion coming in just two and a half years there was no place for half measures. From the images he knew that those ships had technology that was way ahead anything that humanity had at the moment. And if by any chance some had military technology that just might be something that the military can use to successfully complete its task and stop the invasion. And in order to reach to those ships and the technology they had the military and all humanity needed the ship that the young man next to him envisioned.

“She will be a beauty Edward. And you will have a chance to see the things that you dreamed about.”

The young man didn’t hear him at first.

“Edward…”

“Ha, who’s there?”

His voice showed just how much he was lost in his thoughts. Paterson looked at the young man and smiled. The smile helped Edward relax a little and he slowly returned to the moment.

“Sorry James. Yes she will be. But will she be enough?”

At those words the doctor looked at the worried face of his young colleague. He remembered the face that he saw several months before when the construction began. That face was filled with excitement and joy, as well as determination. It was so different from the face he saw today. He knew that the upcoming invasion wasn’t the only reason for the worried look. Part of the reason was the death of his brother who served on one of the ships that were destroyed in the attack.

He met Shaun J. Hanson in person only twice and from the way that Edward talked about him he knew that they were really close. Shaun was twelve years older than Ed and he was the one who took care of him after the death of their parents when Ed was seven years old. The young seamen made all possible effort to help his younger brother and gave him the opportunity to go to college.

He still remembered the day when they first met. It was the day when he recruited Edward. He remembered the pride in Shaun’s eyes as he looked at his younger brother. And the pride and joy that Edward showed as he told him about the offer. There was closeness there. He smiled at the memory.

And then he remembered the day when Edward learned about the fate of the frigate Georgia. When they first heard the news there was still hope but the next day when the first real information arrived it was obvious that Shaun is dead along with everyone else on his ship. Edward was broken but just two days later he came back and went to work and never stopped. It was obvious that he needed the distraction.

“Edward what happened to Shaun was terrible. But you have to go on. You know that he would…”

“I know. But it’s hard. You know… you know how close we were. He was always there for me. And now…now he is gone, he is gone because some stupid aliens wanted war. I hate them James. I hate them with every cell of my body. And I will do anything I can to see them all die, anything.”

Paterson looked at his younger friend. He understood those feelings. He knew that almost every man on this world now feels the same. He knew that the innocence that the science had couple of months ago was now gone. It was replaced with fear and constant quest for military knowledge. All projects about space ships, space weapons, nuclear arsenals the things that just couple of months ago no one liked to talk about or look at were now back on the table. He knew because he was already in the comity that had a job to create the first real space fighter. The military was pressing hard for those projects. And he knew that they were going to get them. He only hoped that they can give them in time before the invasion.

“You are not alone in that Edward. But don’t let it consume you. He wouldn’t have wanted that. You know that.”

“Yes you are right.”

Paterson smiled and taped him on the shoulder. The young man turned his gaze toward the sky and the shuttles that were rising.

“If you ever need someone to talk I’ll be here.”

The young man turned and looked at him with eyes filled with tears.

“Thanks James… Thanks.”

After this no one talked. They just looked at the dark sky and the four shuttles that were carrying the next set of equipment for the ship.

They both knew that in just four months that ship will start its mission and that Edward was part of the team that was going.